Diarrhea and vomiting have claimed 5,242 lives and 281,863 others have been affected in the country in the last six years, RSS said.

Lack of awareness and treatment that includes just a simple solution of salt, sugar and water have been attributed as the main reason for the deaths.

In 2002 alone, 2,241persons were affected and 57 died. In 2002, altogether 2,011 persons were affected by influenza in 16 districts and eight persons died in Jumla.

Statistics collected from 12 districts also say that 20 people died while 7,169 were affected by typhoid, altogether 426 people of nine districts suffered from pneumonia and eight died. nepalnews.com br Dec.27